Google has reached a milestone with 1 billion monthly active users for RCS and has introduced 7 new features in the Messages app to celebrate. These features are aimed at helping users let their personality shine through with a variety of creative and customizable options. However, these new features will not turn the RCS bubbles blue on iOS, which has caused some disappointment among iPhone users.
RCS is set to replace the traditional SMS and MMS, and Google’s efforts to push this new standard has been successful, as evidenced by reaching 1 billion monthly active users. With features such as typing indicators, read receipts, threaded replies, and improved privacy, RCS has been designed to enhance the messaging experience for android users. The new features announced include Photomoji, Voice Moods, Screen Effects, Custom Bubbles, Reaction Effects, Animated Emoji, and Profiles, all of which aim to make communication more expressive and personalized for users.
These new features will first be made available in the beta version of Messages, with Google planning to roll out “many” of these features in the beta channel initially. However, the exact details of which features will be available in the beta channel are yet to be made clear by the company. Despite this, it is expected that all new features will be made available in the stable channel in the near future, allowing users to fully experience and take advantage of these new messaging tools.